


You never said...!

by midorimortem



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU where heterosexuals are a minority apparently, College, Drinking, Gay Bar, M/M, Multiple Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:45:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9614756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midorimortem/pseuds/midorimortem
Summary: Momoi wants to introduce her fiancé to her old friends, and ask Kise for help in throwing a party in one of the most renowned clubs of the city. Ryouta gathers his former teammates from the Generation of Miracles, now all college students, but little did the basketball players know, Kise sucks at picking places.





	1. ... this was a gay bar!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, where do I even begin with this one...? I've been listening too much latin music these days and I let my imagination run wild. Kuroko no Basket is a shipfest however you look at it and I just dumped all of my fangirling into the five chapters of this fic. Sorry for the cringing it may give you and just as a reminder, English is not my first language. Enjoy.
> 
> Published in FF . net and Ao3
> 
> Jan-Feb 2017

"Kise…" Aomine threatened as he set foot on the club, feeling a pang of embarrassment crawling on his chest. He was about to punch his friend on the back of the head, but the cringing managed to keep him at bay "You never said this was a gay bar!"

The blonde laughed and dragged Aomine inside, signaling the two men behind him to follow through to the upper floor of the bar, where everyone else was waiting. After evading a bunch of people raving to the beat of the music, they finally reached the elevator door. Oh, sure, they didn't have to flirt with anybody, Kise excused himself. In fact, they didn't come there to dance, he said, they came to meet Momoi's new boytoy...errr… boyfriend. Oh, of course nobody would think a group of athletic, young and goodlooking men entering a gay bar together was weird…

"Chill out, Aominecchi, you don't have to pay attention to anybody. Our table's on the next floor and it's a lot quieter and emptier than here, so, don't worry! I'll even buy you a drink in compensation!" Kise insisted, but Aomine was glaring daggers at him. "Now, on the other hand, I didn't expect you two to come! Thanks, guys, I'm sure Momocchi will appreciate all of her friends being here."

"Don't even mention it, Kise-san! I had to drag Shin-chan here, but Oha-Asa said he had to follow Scorpio's advice for tonight if he wanted to have an excellent weekend. Also, they recommended not to make a Taurus upset~ and we know Shin-chan doesn't like it when Satsuki-san gets angry at him." Takao explained with a grin on his lips, poking his taller friend's side. The green haired man sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose, but didn't say anything in regards. Takao laughed and pushed Midorima inside the elevator, just like Kise was doing with Aomine.

"Then it's great you've come, Takaocchi! Everyone's waiting, come on!" He jumped out of the elevator and walked them to a table further into the bar. Momoi was dressed in a floral print dress and had her arms wrapped around another man's neck. Aomine felt a vein on his temple pop with anger, as the man's hands latched around her waist. He hated to admit it, but he had become really overprotective of her during their long years of friendship.

"Oh! Dai-chan, you've made it! Thanks for fetching him downstairs, you're an angel, Ki-chan! I see you brought Midorin and Taka-chan as well! Good, now everyone's here!" The pink haired girl said and received hugs from everyone. Aomine's lasted a few seconds longer, which made Kise smirk.

"Happy birthday, Momoi." Midorima handed her a small teddy bear with a pink ribbon tied around its head. She received it with eagerness and embraced him again. Takao smiled, known only to him how cute his friend could actually be at times. Of course he wouldn't tell her it was Taurus' lucky item for the day. "And sorry we're late."

"Yeah, it was a hassle bringing him here, Satsuki-san…" Takao complained, rolling his eyes. "He didn't want to come in first place but I- OW! don't smack me, Shin-chan, it hurts!"

"I know this is not the type of place you frequent, Midorin, I appreciate it! Now, come, sit with us!" She patted the side of her seat so that either Aomine or either of the Shutoku duo could take it, but the dark skinned man took it first. Midorima allowed himself a sly smile. "Let me introduce you! Of course you already know everybody else here, but he's my fiancé, En Harasawa. Honey, these are Shintaro Midorima and Kazunari Takao from Shutoku High, and you've already heard a lot about Dai-chan, right? " The man nodded and greeted the three newcomers with a charming smile. He had an athletic build and handsome features, and as far as Momoi had bragged about him, he was on his college's volleyball team.

"Harasawa?" Aomine asked, glancing daggers at him as well. "You're not related to…?"

"Yes, Katsu-san is my eldest brother. Heh, your coach was the one who introduced us, actually." He had a soft and kind voice, which only seemed to piss Aomine more. He looked like he was about to kill him. Midorima decided it was best to run away and insisted he'd go grab something to drink, pulling Takao along after they greeted everybody else on the table.

"So, volley, huh?" Aomine sounded so intimidating everyone else on the table noticed it, but Harasawa seemed unfazed by his aggression. He didn't even wait to get an answer, he turned around and faced Momoi instead. "Hey, Satsuki, why did you choose this place anyway?"

"Oh, I didn't! Ki-chan picked it up for me! I just asked it had great music, specially if they had western hits, and that it was close to a subway station so that everybody reached their homes safely later on. We've heard this place had great reviews online, but we didn't know it was an LGBT bar..." The pink haired woman explained, trying to avoid creating more tension between her best friend and her boyfriend.

"Oh, so it was Kise's fault all along…" The blonde's face asked not to be punished by Aomine's anger. Not only did he dragged him to a gay bar, but he also forced him to withstand watching Momoi on another man's arms. Kise deserved all punishment, and he was well aware of it.

"Come on, Ahomine, just enjoy the evening! It's not like some random dude will come and ask you out for a dance, not with that attitude, at least. Here, have a beer and chill." Kagami said and threw him a closed can from the seat right in front of him. Kuroko looked like he was spacing out as he looked over Himuro's shoulder, towards the bar where Takao and Midorima were asking for their drinks.

"Yeah… changing the subject, it's really nice to see you, Tetsu. You too Bakagami." He snorted, opening the can with one finger. "How's married life going?"

"We're just roommates, Aomine-kun." Kuroko corrected him and Aomine swore he saw Kagami's heart breaking in front of him. "But college is going fine. We're about to finish our second year and Kagami-kun only failed two of his classes."

"Once an idiot, always an idiot." Aomine laughed, but Kagami laughed back at him. Indeed, he wasn't one to set an example after dropping out of his major.

"What about Akashi-sama over here? I thought you had gone to London to study and get away from your father." Aomine turned his attention to the red haired man, who smiled kindly. His eyes were both colored bright red this time and he was thankful for that, as he'd not have enjoyed spending an evening with his friends if his other self had been in control.

"I came back to attend a meeting for the company this weekend. I just casually caught Satsuki-san's invitation. It'd have been impossible otherwise, Aomine-kun." Akashi said calmly with his legs crossed. Of all people there, he was the only one drinking wine. Takao and Midorima returned and got into conversation with Himuro and Kuroko, almost ignoring Murasakibara's sprawled position over Himuro's legs. Midorima didn't drink alcohol and Takao had asked for a cocktail already. Of course, Akashi was the only one refined and wealthy enough to ask for something more expensive than that, thus the bottle he was only sharing with the couple.

"Yeah! I'm so glad we're all here! Now, let's go dance, guys!" Momoi stood up and dragged Harasawa to his feet. Her attempts to make Aomine raise as well were futile.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Satsuki… but you're the only girl and there's ten of us. You can only have one dancing partner." His eyes were filled with anger and a clear tint of jealousy, but Momoi decided to ignore it.

"Hmm… Micchan and Acchan drifted away somewhere with some of the girls they'd come with, I guess they're dancing with other guys downstairs. I had already thought about it, so I invited some of my friends from Teiko, Too and now from College, but since you arrived late and none of them asked my friends out for a dance… well, I guess they found more fun around the club." Momoi shrugged as she explained, but she didn't have an answer for their current dilemma. "Well, I guess you could dance with each other, but I don't think you'd actually enjoy that. Nobody here's gonna pay no mind to you, guys, so…"

"No, thank you." Aomine interrupted before she even suggested he should dare Kagami into a dance-off.

"As you wish… come on, En-chan!" And as such, she disappeared into the crowd with her betrothed. Aomine groaned and immediately afterwards, the Generation and Miracles and their companions turned into a support group for the blue haired man.

"You've got it bad for her, don't you?" Kise asked, patting his back as Aomine sunk his head on his palms.

"Yeah… I've not noticed until she said she was getting married." He sipped from his beer and groaned again. "I'm such an idiot."

"Yes, you are! You should tell her before it's too late!" Kagami insisted, smashing his empty can against his leg. Aomine glared at him. _You're one to talk, Bakagami..._

"In my non-experienced and quite uninterested opinion…" Midorima began as he shoved Takao away from his seat, who was trying to get him to eat some strange appetizer the bartender had given him with the cocktail. "You should respect her decisions. She does look happy with Harasawa-san, and the feeling seems to be mutual this time, evidently." His eyes turned slightly to Kuroko, who kept glancing behind Himuro's arm from time to time.

"... Tetsu, what's up? You've been spacing out since we arrived." Aomine asked, trying to change the subject again, even though he didn't ignore Midorima's comment.

"Nothing, Aomine-kun… I just think I saw someone I know, but I can't tell for sure." He informed, but then he focused his entire attention on Aomine's problem. "You should not hide your feelings from her. Even if she decides to marry him, you should tell her how she makes you feel."

"Yeah, what could go wrong? It's not like you're the best of friends, anyway!" Kise said, hugging him from the shoulders as he laughed. He could smell alcohol in his breath and Aomine assumed the blonde had been drinking heavily since earlier.

"Thanks for the support, idiot." He shoved him away and asked Kagami to toss him another beer. Aomine drank and, as his eyes drifted towards the crowd, he decided it was better to keep on drinking so that the bright pink mane of Momoi wouldn't drag his attention to her make-out session with Harasawa. "I wish I could at least ask her to dance…"

"You will." Akashi said, completely sure of himself.

"Wishful thinking will not work, you know?"

"No, he's right." It was Takao this time. Aomine knew Akashi and Shutoku's point guard didn't have the best relationship, but seeing them agree on something must have good a reason behind it. "He's got a knee injury and he can't keep up with Satsuki-san's pace for long."

"How do you know?" Kise asked, interested.

"He's got a limp on his left leg from a previous incident with his volleyball team." Akashi answered in his stead. "I assume Kazunari noticed this because of his hawk eyes, the minute he stood up." Takao didn't let go unnoticed Akashi used his first name without honorifics. For the few times he'd shared a minute with Akashi, he could tell he wasn't in 'Emperor mode' as he liked to call it. No, he was just being disrespectful on purpose, and it bothered him greatly, but he nodded in agreement.

"Give it around 15, 20 minutes tops." Takao said, glancing away from Akashi's direction. He had a smirk on his lips, which assured that even if the ambiance wasn't the most optimal, Takao was sure it was going to be one of the funniest nights he'd had in the last few years. If Shin-chan wasn't entertaining enough, at least Aomine's drama would be a good show.

"You guys are terrible~" Murasakibara whispered with tiredness in his voice. "You should just let Sa-chin be happy with her boyfriend."

"What's her boyfriend name, Atsushi-kun?" Himuro asked, trying to test his friend's attention.

"Don't know, don't care." The purple haired giant exclaimed and laid his head over Himuro's shoulder. "I'm hungry…"

Aomine sighed and within twenty minutes, just as Akashi and Takao had predicted, Momoi returned hand in hand with Harasawa. He didn't look in pain, but he twitched his eyes when he sat back down again. Aomine finished his third beer by then and, out of mere courtesy, asked the volleyball player how had he gotten his injury.

"Do any of you gentleman mind joining me on the dancefloor?" Momoi asked after assuring her future husband was safe and sound. All eyes drifted towards Aomine. "Dai-chan, would you?"

"Yeah, why not?" Just as he stood up and grabbed another beer for the road, he noticed some young girls and a boy approached Kise at the same time. The blonde model smiled and grabbed the girls' hands, but he also pushed the boy's back with eagerness and they followed suite towards the dancefloor. Trying not to get too distracted by Kise's public display of polyamorous affection, he tried to focus his attention on Satsuki, as she placed her hands around his neck and forced him to take her by the waist as they moved to the slow cadence of a blues he had heard some time before on the radio.

Aomine was no newbie when it came to clubbing, but he usually hung out with girls he had met in college or even some fans on an afterparty from the last tournaments in High School. They usually never learned his first name and they never stayed the night to find out. It wasn't the first time he danced closely with Satsuki, either. But it was, indeed, the first time he did so being conscious of his feelings for her. He could feel the curious stares from their friends, and, at times, he swore Kise was taking pictures, but he was too entranced on Momoi's movements to even pay attention to Kise at the moment.

"Dai-chan… may I ask you something?"

"Sure…" He said, slightly concerned from her tone. The tune they were dancing to, for whatever little english Aomine could understand, spoke about unrequited love, affairs and secret romances. He sighed, the irony tasted bitter on his mouth.

"Do you think En-chan and I will work it out?" She blurbed out, slightly ashamed as she turned around at the pace of the music and grabbed into Aomine's hands so he'd take the lead. "The coach introduced us and we hit it off immediately, but we've only been together for less than a year and…"

"It's your decision, Satsuki." Aomine said coldly, trying to recreate Kuroko's smoother way of phrasing it. "In the end, I'll respect your choices and I'll be there, no matter what happens." No, it had sounded different in his head. It sounded almost like a confession.

"Dai-chan, I… do you perhaps…?"

"Satsu-chan!" En's voice interrupted their conversation. His eyes showed fear and his hands trembled slightly when he grabbed Momoi's arms. "My brother called me, our father was in an accident just now." He talked as if Aomine was non-existent, but the larger man understood his behavior. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave earlier…"

"I'll go with you, En-chan…" She said, but her fiancé insisted she stayed. It was her birthday after all, but Momoi insisted on coming along. Her friends would understand and she agreed to pay for their bills so that they'd not be bothered by her absence. "Dai-chan, I'm sorry… we'll continue talking on the phone tomorrow, ok?"

"Yeah… go ahead." He felt his hopes shattering as Momoi patted his arms. He hugged her once more, with the excuse it was her birthday, and let her go. Harasawa thanked him and excused himself for taking his dancing partner, with that dumb, charming smile of his that pissed Aomine so much. "Hope your old man is ok."

"Thanks… it was really nice to finally meet you." Maybe in another life, they could have been good friends. Harasawa reminded him of his coach, of course, but to some degree, he also reminded him of Kise. He saw them walking down towards the elevator, and the couple disappeared when the metal doors closed before them.

Aomine finished his beer and stood alone on the dancefloor with a sad grin on his face. He'd lost Satsuki to a better man because he was a complete, oblivious idiot. Of course he'd have only noticed he had lost her completely when someone other than Tetsu was the target of her affections. He wasn't crying, but he surely felt the urge to do so.

"Hey, Aominecchi…?" Kise asked, poking his shoulders to call his attention. "Here, drink this."

"What is it?" He asked, taking the small glass on his fingers. The smell was pungent and it shimmered in golden color.

"It's called mezcal. It's from Mexico." He explained, showing him an identical glass. "It's really strong and you look like you needed one. It's on me, come on." He insisted. Aomine sighed, clanked his glass against Kise's and drank the shot from one go.

On that exact same moment, he realized he shouldn't have done that. It didn't have just mezcal, which left a smoky and strong taste on his buds, but it also had a trace of tequila. Kise was trying to get him hammered, as he had never drunk something so strong that made his head spin around in just a couple of seconds. He had to admit the drink was good, though.

"What the… woah, Kise, you can't even hold it yourself!" He said as he caught the blonde, who had lost his balance as he tried to approach him. Aomine noticed his three dancing partners had disappeared somewhere in the crowd.

"That's because that's my third shot. I toasted with Momocchi earlier and bet Kagamicchi he wouldn't like it… you should have seen his face." He clung into Aomine's arms for dear life, unable to hold his balance any longer.

"I should have told Kasamatsu to babysit you, you become an idiot when you go out for drinks." He said angrily, putting Kise back onto his feet.

"No, no, I'm fine, I just got a bit out of hand… suddenly I've been drinking a lot more, Aominecchi… perhaps it's because my life is so sad and lonely right now… I'm not going to college and all my friends kept playing basketball, but I quit, I'm just a lowly paid model." Kise wept and hugged Aomine, trying to release some of his emotional stupor.

"Oh no, you're a drama queen when you're drunk, right?" He raised him on his feet and held him by the shoulders. "I'm also flunking and I'm thinking of dropping, you idiot, don't think you're the only one in trouble."

"Kasamatsu-senpai said that too." He ignored his second statement, keeping all his attention on the words 'drama queen'. "But he found out dancing helps me alot because I transpire the alcohol real quickly." Kise whined, holding himself up from Aomine's chest. Perhaps it was the mezcal speaking, but Kise looked like a dork when drunk. An adorable dork. _Wait, what…?_

"Well, let's find you a dancing partner, if Tetsu sees you like this he's gonna get all mother-hen on us and we won't like that." Aomine turned around, searching for a lonely girl or guy that would like to help Kise with his turmoil. But Keijo's former ace clung into Aomine's shirt as he giggled in a silly manner.

"How's about if you dance with me, Aominecchi? After all, Hasagawa just stole your girl." He laughed and it made Aomine's blood burn inside his veins. From time to time, that cold and cruel side of Kise popped out, even with him.

"I'm going to kick you until you puke and choke on your own vomit, Ryouta..." he hissed as he shook his friend in vengeance.

"Nooo, come on! Dance with me!" Kise begged, making baby-doll eyes at him to get his way. Aomine shook his head and tried to shove him off, but no matter how delicate Kise's looks were, he was definitely not weak and wimpy. He held Aomine's arms with a very tight grip, not letting him escape to safety with the rest of their friends. "Please, dance with me, Dai-chan~."

"F-fine. Just don't call me that, idiot." Aomine said, pestered. Kise let go a faint 'yeeei' through his lips and latched his arms around the blue-haired man's neck, ignoring any concept of personal space. Aomine tried to lean back, but Kise pulled himself up, smirking mischievously. "Just one song, ok?"

"Ok, ok… be gentle with me, Aominecchi~" Kise said as he rested his head against Aomine's shoulder and waved his hips to the beat of the music. Aomine blushed wildly at the proximity, but after a long minute of doubt, he held Kise's waist and took the lead as they danced. He had never seen two men dancing before, not even in videos, so he had to look around to get some reference, as he assumed it'd not be the same to dance with a small-framed girl like Satsuki than a 6'2'' guy like Kise. He had heard many songs like that in the past, Santana for example, but in any scenario he'd picture himself dancing to the beat of that kind of music, Kise didn't appear in any of them. The song was sensual and daring, the cadence was quite slow, but the powerful guitar riffs made it sound so good. If he had to describe it one way or another, it was a song to fuck to.

Aomine blushed wildly as he watched Kise get in sync with the music. His body twisted and turned with utmost sexuality he had never imagined Kise had it on him, even if he was, perhaps, the most good-looking member of the Generation of Miracles. No wonder he had such an appeal to both men and women. Aomine froze, for the strange thoughts he had been getting in the past few minutes. Kise noticed, but he stopped as well once the song had ended.

"Aominecchi?" He was still drunk, but at least he managed to stand on his feet now. That didn't matter anyway, because he didn't let go of Aomine's neck when the next song began. "You wanna go at it again, don't you?" His words slurred from his mouth, but Aomine couldn't say no.

"The others are looking…" He said, worried, as the music kicked up. This time, Kise seemed to want to take the lead, but Aomine didn't let him. They both stood with their hands on each other's waist, until Kise's hands began trailing down to his hips. Aomine gulped, but he let him take the initiative as he drew their bodies closer. He felt their legs intertwine as he began to move, and this time, as the song picked up it's beat, his hands began to roam on his sides and his back. It was so intimate, so sensual, Aomine began doubting so many things about himself.

"Who cares?" Kise said, and he didn't sound like he was drunk at all. "Akashicchi doesn't give a shit about this kinda stuff, Kagamicchi is so gay for Kurokochi it hurts to watch him, Murasakibaracchi and Himurocchi have soemthing going on within them, and Midorimachi is married to Takaocchi and he doesn't even know it. Nobody is free of sin here..."

"You make it sound like all of us are a bunch of f-" Aomine began, but Kise glared at him and shut him up with one of his hands.

"Don't you dare use slurs in my presence, Aomine." Kise didn't use his usual '-cchi' at the end of his name. Aomine took from that that he would not have Kise's respect if he wasn't open minded and tolerant. Soon it dawned on him. Perhaps Kise wasn't interested in women. Or not _just_ in women. It made sense why Kise got so angry whenever he said insensitive jokes or mocked people with homophobic insults. Aomine sighed, if he knew that, even because of the strong drink he just had, he'd be having second thoughts about his own sexuality, he'd have never made fun of any of it.

"S-sorry. Y-you get my point, though."

"I do, but please be more respectful. Now, as payback for your insensitivity, you're gonna dance with me until I get a bit sober again." He said with a husky voice. Aomine gulped. This had definitely not been on his plans when he agreed to come to suffer some kind of torment on Momoi's hands. Worst of it all, he was actually enjoying himself.

"That wasn't the deal, but… if you buy me one more shot of that thing, I may accept your offer." Aomine smirked and Kise pulled him towards the bar this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how hard it is to come with a mezcal bottle in Japan, but I just love mezcal shots I cannot help myself!


	2. there wasn't gonna be any food!

"Tatsu…" Murasakibara grunted as he pulled from his friend's arms. "Tatsu-chin, why hasn't the waiter come to take our order?"

"That's because this is a bar, not a restaurant, Atsushi-kun." Himuro answered, slightly worried. They were the second to arrive and they'd been sitting there for almost three hours. How come Murasakibara hadn't noticed?

"Whaaat…? You didn't say there wasn't gonna be any food!" Murasakibara cried and pouted like a child. Takao, who had been sitting besides them, cracked a laugh and patted Himuro's back.

"My condolences, Himuro-san! I thought Shin-chan was high-maintenance, but you have to deal with Murasakibara-san, all days, like this." Takao said and Midorima elbowed him on the ribs without saying anything in response. Takao laughed again and pinched Midorima's cheek to tease him, getting shoved immediately.

"It's actually no problem, I just imagined he had come prepared for it." He grabbed Atsushi by the shoulders and tried to lift him, but he was unable on his own. Kagami noticed he was in distress and the two of them managed to make the giant sit up straight. At that very moment, Akashi's cellphone rang and he stood up from the table. Rakuzan's former captain rushed away from their merry group, informing them he'd be back later on, but it was an urgent call from his father.

"Hey, Murasakibara… you're looking awfully pale."

"Yes, that's not normal, even for Murasakibara-kun." Kuroko said, blinking several times, between Atsushi and, once again, behind Himuro's back.

"He looks sick, indeed." Midorima intervened, changing his seat with Takao in one swift motion. He grabbed Murasakibara's wrist to check his pulse, and he noticed he had a very faint heartbeat at the moment. "Did you eat anything before getting here?" He asked, as if he was attending a patient in one of his internships.

"Yeah… I baked some pancakes in the morning and I ate them with honey, ice-cream and a strawberry milkshake… on the evening I ate three hamburgers, two bags of chips and a couple of cans of coke… ah, but I only had half of Tatsu-chi's subway sandwich for dinner…"

"Your diet is terrible…" Kagami said, receiving a glare from Kuroko. Even if he was one hell of a cook, his usual diet consisted on Magi-Burger's take-outs.

"I see you've not changed your habits since middle school. You need to start eating healthier, mostly because you're an ath-"

"You only had half of my subway?!" Himuro interrupted, worried as if he was Murasakibara's mother. "I thought you had eating something at home before coming in here!"

"No…" Murasakibara felt his head going dizzy and his vision turned white for a while. "I believed Sacchin wanted to introduce her boyfriend during dinner, and I didn't want you to go all evening without eating anything... Then, this is a club… no food, huh?" He leaned towards Midorima's shoulder, who looked uncomfortable with the sudden physical contact. Takao laughed and poked fun at him, muttering beneath his breath how cute Shin-chan looked when he got flustered.

"They may sell some snacks at the bar, I'll go check." Kagami offered, but Takao shook his head.

"No, they only sell booze, soda and water. Perhaps soda would help him? I think he's got faint pressure, doesn't he, Shin-chan?" He asked the doctor-to-be, who nodded.

"However, seeing the amount of junk he eats…" Midorima pondered, changing seats with Takao again. The shorter boy pushed Murasakibara's head with gentleness towards Tatsuya's shoulder, who patted him on the head as the purple-haired giant complained.

"No, he needs something to eat, best if it's covered with sugar. Do you know if I can get in and out of the bar without a problem?"

"Yeah, as long as you don't remove the bangle from your wrist. Tell the bouncer you've got a friend who's not feeling well and he'll let you through with the food." Takao explained. He had too much experience dealing with one of the Miracle's whims and mannerisms that he already knew how to handle people when in need.

"Thanks! I'll go to the vending machine downstairs to see if I can find anything. Do you guys want something?" Tatsuya offered, but the other men refused. Kuroko was left in place to take care of Atsushi while the raven-haired boy returned.

"Murasakibara-kun, how are you feeling?" He asked, holding him by the arms.

"You're not Tatsu-chin. Kuroko-chin… where's Tatsu?" It seemed he had fainted for a few seconds. Midorima began to worry. Even if it didn't help much, he asked Kuroko if he could go bring him a pair of sodas as quick as possible. Since he was usually unnoticed by people around him, he could sneak into the line and get the beverages quicker than any of them. Kuroko rose from his seat and Midorima held Atsushi in place for a while.

"I hope Tatsuya doesn't take long. I don't know what are we gonna do if this giant doof dies on us." Kagami said, opening another can of beer. Takao shook his hands, insisting he shouldn't be saying things like that.

"I believe it would not be the first time that's ever happened in a bar. But please, don't." Midorima said, letting Murasakibara rest on his legs, much to his discomfort. It was unprofessional, but he knew he'd lend a hand to his friend even if they were usually at each other's necks for how different their personalities were.

"I'm sorry to worry you, guys… even you, Mido-chin." Murasakibara cried out. "Hey, where's Akashi-chin?"

"He's attending a phone call. don't worry, he and Himuro-san should be back soon." Takao said. Out of all the Generation of Miracles members, perhaps Murasakibara was the one he had talked with the least, from the distance between their prefectures. Even Akashi had been more of an acquaintance, since the 'old' Akashi returned and resumed his friendship with Midorima. Murasakibara, on the other hand, was almost a complete stranger. But, as vulnerable and sick as he was, the giant sort of reminded him of Shin-chan when he was at his worst. He would say he pitied Himuro for it, but he'd be lying completely. He enjoyed having a high-maintenance best friend, after all. It made him feel tolerant, patient and useful.

"Actually, Kazunari, I'm going to have to excuse myself again." Akashi said behind Takao's back. He walked quickly and grabbed his coat and his portfolio, but he had a serene expression in his face. "Another meeting popped up, I need to leave. Excuse my absence, I know I'm doing just as Satsuki did, but it's an emergency for the company."

"At 1 a.m. in the morning?" Kuroko asked, as he returned with two cans of soda in his hands. Slight traces of his 'Emperor' persona surged, for example, this time he also mentioned Momoi with no honorifics. "I have something to tell you before you leave, would you give me a second, Akashi-kun?"

"Surely, Tetsuya, let's talk over there. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening, Shintaro, Kazunari, Taiga. Atsushi, I hope you feel better, send my best regards to Tatsuya. And please, tell Ryota and Daiki I expect they do behave even if we're at this sort of place. You may finish the bottle of wine if you wish. Now, Tetsuya, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Kuroko pulled him away from the others and the four of them were left confused, especially Kagami. Murasakibara shrugged and drank the soda cans real quick, as if he had been dying from thirst all along. Some color returned to his cheeks, but he didn't look fine just yet.

"Don't be too surprised, Kagami-chin." Murasakibara said, moving away slightly from Midorima. "He's always like that."

"I'm more interested in what he's talking about with Kuroko."

"Jealous?" Takao mocked, and for the first time in the whole evening, Murasakibara laughed. "Now that he mentions it, perhaps we should go and drag Aomine-san and Kise-san back from the dancefloor? I think they're really going at it and I'm not sure if they're getting out of hand with their drinks…" His hawk-eye allowed him to see Kise and Aomine engulfing their fourth shot of whatever they had been drinking, but neither looked in good shape anymore.

"Leave them be." Midorima said with a chuckle. "They'll learn to regret their actions next morning, of course."

"You know…? You should ask Tatsu-chin for advice, Kagami-chin, he's a very good listener and a terrific love-doctor." Atsushi glanced at the elevator door, hoping to see Himuro enter through the door with his much promised food. Takao looked at Kagami just as confused as he was, and Midorima sighed as he rubbed his eyes in desperation, removing his glasses in the process.

"He gets high on dopamine when his sugar levels go down." He grimaced, repelling his friend's face from his bicep. "It should be the other way around, but he's always been like that since I've known him. I'm not sure if he's got it checked or something, but he must have a special condition or something."

"So… he gets all lovey-dovey when he's feeling faint?" Kagami asked, trying to remember his basic chemistry and biology courses. Midorima nodded, looking for Himuro this time himself.

"Hey, Mido-chin… have I ever told you you're really cute when you're all bothered?" Kagami laughed, and so did Takao, even though he did feel a pang of jealousy as Murasakibara voiced what he had been thinking the whole time.

"I've got one idiot reminding me of it all the time, Atsushi, thank you." Well, at least he admitted it.

"Yeah, but you're not as cute as Tatsu-chin. He gets all worked up when he worries…" The three men stared at each other, estranged for Murasakibara's sudden confession. Kagami feared there was something Tatsuya hadn't told him yet...

"Hey, Murasakibara… are you and Tatsuya…?" Kagami asked, scared of finding out the truth. He still considered Tatsuya his best friend and he couldn't imagine him with a guy. No, perhaps he didn't want to imagine him with Murasakibara. The images that popped up in his mind made him worried.

"Oh, there you are, Tatsu! What took you so long?!" He completely ignored Kagami's inquiry and nudged his forehead against Himuro's shoulder. Tatsuya was covered in sweat and he looked bothered, but otherwise, he was just fine.

"I saw Akashi-kun going out of the bar, is everything ok?" He asked, handing Murasakibara a dozen of colorful doughnuts. Murasakibara smiled widely and hugged his friend, pecking him on the cheek as he began stuffing his face with eagerness. It seems Kagami's doubt will never be answered.

"Yes, he got an emergency call from his father, Himuro-kun." Kuroko said.

"Since when have you been sitting there, Kuroko?!" Kagami asked, scared.

"Since Murasakibara-san hugged Shin-chan." Takao said, still bothered. From the corner of the eye, he could see a small smirk on Midorima's face. _This bastard…_

"You noticed?... oh, right, your hawk eye… why do I even ask?!" Kagami reprimanded himself.

"Thanks, Tatsu-chin, these are delicious." He began gaining more color on his cheeks and his slow-paced butgoofy behavior returned in just a couple of minutes. Tatsuya smiled and explained he had a lot of trouble convincing the bouncer to let him in with the box of doughnuts, so he had to bribe him to let him in again.

"I hope you're feeling better, Atsushi-kun." Himuro turned around to face his friends as he let Murasakibara eat at his heart's content over his shoulder. He wasn't bothered by the loud munching noises directly at his ear, and he also patted his hair as if he was a little puppy. In comparison to the others, both of them had been drinking beer, but Kagami, who knew Himuro for a long time, was sure he would not get drunk with just two drinks. He didn't know about Murasakibara, but he was sure he wasn't drunk either. Then… why, why were they being so affectionate towards each other?

"Ahh, these are the best~ you're the best caretaker in the world, Tatsu-chin." After all, Himuro was not only his basketball partner, but also his nanny. Doubt still crippled Kagami's mind. He wasn't one to judge, as he had developed his own stupid crush on his former teammate, but he didn't want to believe Himuro would go after someone as weird as Murasakibara. Of all people, it had to be him!

"Are you together?" Takao finally voiced Kagami's concern. Both Atsushi and Tatsuya laughed at this, the former to a lesser extent. Both shook their heads and exchanged a very intimate smile, as if they knew something neither of their friends did.

"No, Tatsu-chin is just my self-proclaimed caretaker. He noticed after our first year together I needed some sort of nanny to make me motivated and he assumed that role." Murasakibara explained and shrugged. "But in the end we did end up going to the same college and we still get together and stuff, he still takes care of me from now and then... He buys me stuff and takes me to nice places to eat... Heh, you could say he's like my daddy or something like that." Kagami wished he had phrased it someway other than that. Anything would be fine, perhaps fucking each other senseless would have sounded better. No, he had to use the word 'daddy'. Murasakibara laughed and so did Himuro. Teasing Kagami was just as easy as Tatsuya and Alex had told him. Perhaps it was better to keep the truth from him for a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, in case you were left wondering, Atsushi and Himuro are the only ones who are actually dating. Kagami is an idiot, but he's a good and jealous little brother. MuraHimu are probably my second favourite KnB ship, but they're quite... hard to write, maybe they turned a bit OCC, but I like to imagine they're really cute with each other. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. ...we were together!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update, because I don't know if I'll have time after work T_T

"What did you talk about with Akashi, Kuroko?" Takao asked, now that things had returned to some sort of twisted normalcy.

"Oh, one of the bartenders said he knew Akashi-kun from high school and I told him the bartender wanted to speak with him, that's it."

"That's why you were looking towards the bar at all times? Do you know him from basketball or something?" Midorima asked.

"I didn't recognize him at first, he's quite changed from his Rakuzan years. But when I got closer I knew immediately who it was. He said he was slightly offended Takao-kun didn't recognize him earlier, but he didn't recognize either of you as well because he was really busy attending orders." Kuroko explained, making Midorima and Takao exchange confused glances. Neither of them seemed to have paid attention to the bartender who took their order.

For Takao, it was strange the bartender had not seen his friend and recognized him immediately. It was hard to lose sight on Midorima, not only from his height, but also from his peculiar hair and eye color, but he had to admit it might have been difficult because of the dimmed lights. Takao remembered he was the one who ordered their drinks, since it made Shin-chan nervous talking to strangers. Relying on him for simple, mundane tasks was one of their many coping mechanisms for Shin-chan's anxiety, and Takao adored helping him through every bit of it.

"Now, now, Kuroko-chan, don't spoil it~" a feminate voice said from behind Himuro's back. A tall man with long, black hair and pink elegant highlights walked towards them with a tray of 20 glasses filled with a transparent liquid. Reo Mibuchi waved his hips as he served them two rows of shots, but it was perhaps Takao's shocked stare which made the scene completely comical to Kagami's eyes. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Kazu-chan. Last time was when I got to congratulate you both for winning your last Winter Cup against my former team..." He winked at both Shuutoku former players, but he also blew a kiss at Takao. From the corner of his eye, Takao noticed Shin-chan flinching, this time with a hint of anger. Kagami said no one asked for anything from their table, but Mibuchi insisted Akashi had ordered them two rounds to celebrate and excuse his absence. Kuroko confirmed it.

"I-it's nice to see you, Mibuchi-san" Takao fidgeted. "I see you work here… sorry for not saying hi earlier."

"Don't worry, dear~ call me Reo, please, we're all friends here."

"Reo-san, thank you. I guess you're the one who suggested this place to Akashi-kun." Kuroko said. "Akashi-kun recommended Kise-kun to make reservations for this bar, but it doesn't seem Akashi-kun would come here on his own."

"You're completely right! I've been working here for six months to help with my tuition from college, so I insisted Sei-chan should pay a visit. It was so nice talking to him just now, he's just as cute as I remember him, as if three years haven't gone by yet." He fixed his hair and picked up the tray, but he kept his eyes fixed on Takao.

"You haven't changed a bit either." Kazunari said, concerned he was staring at him too intensely.

"No, but I can see you did. They did name you captain, right? I'd love to hear about your adventures, Kazu-chan… hmm, what do you say? My shift ends in 15 minutes, perhaps you'd like to share some stories with me on the outdoor lounge? I mean, if Midorima-sama allows it?" Mibuchi flirted and teased, but his words were like poison when talking to Shin-chan. Takao gulped. He was unable to face his friend at the moment, since there were many things he had never told him -or anybody, as a matter of fact- about his relationship with Reo Mibuchi.

"Do as you wish." Midorima said bluntly, but he was clearly pissed Mibuchi was messing with Takao.

"That settles it! If you do come, I'll prepare another Sex on the Beach just for you, Kazu-chan, my treat~" Kazunari gulped, not able to ignore Mibuchi's constant flirtation. He wanted to go. He wanted to talk to Reo again, but he couldn't ruin things now as they were with Shin-chan.

He had finally gained his complete trust and they had even picked a college to stay together after high school. He had persevered, he had been patient for the right moment he was sure Midorima was ready to hear about his feelings. Of course, Kazunari had suggested moving together as roommates as a plan to help him cope with the college lifestyle, so that he'd not have to go out to the world and find a new idiot who'd put up with all his quirks and his manias. But in the end, he was just a horny, lonely teenager who'd fallen in love with his best friend, and he'd do anything in hand to keep him by his side. If he were to go with Reo, and by some twisted turn of fate, Shin-chan actually returned his feelings, he'd be in a great lot of trouble.

"You should go, Takao-kun." Kuroko said after Mibuchi left.

"You have the hots for Mibuchi, eh?" Kagami teased. It was his turn to be the tortured instead.

"N-no, it's nothing like that." Damn. He'd have to explain everything. "No… after our second play against Rakuzan, when he was out of the team, he approached me to congratulate me before I was appointed captain. We got along pretty well and I did go out with him once or twice, but I never noticed he was blatantly flirting with me until the third date." He omitted to say it was him who asked Mibuchi out, though.

"I wouldn't have imagined you'd be so naïve, Takao-kun." Now even Kuroko was teasing him, _great._ "Mibuchi-san has always been flirty with guys he considers cute… remember how he got with Hyuuga-senpai?" He asked Kagami, who laughed out loud.

"You never told me you went out with him." Midorima asked angrily. Takao felt as if he was being punished for merely existing.

"We just talked about basketball and our teammates, I think I mentioned my sister once or twice, but that's it. I think he got bored of me because I always talked about… never mind." Kagami smiled widely. Of course Mibuchi would get bored if Takao didn't stop talking about Midoima 24/7.

"I guess it's good you're meeting each other again, then. I didn't know you swung that way." Midorima said, and Takao felt as if he had just been stabbed through the heart.

"I don't." Takao defended himself, even though he knew he was lying. He was clearly offended by Midorima's tone, but he had his pride hurt and he'd not let it go without a fight. "I simply liked him as a friend, that's it."

"Then go talk to your friend, I'm sure he'll like to remind you of how much you've changed, _Kazu-chan._ " That was it. Takao would not stand up for this childish behavior. If Midorima had realized something and was jealous because of it, he'd better mend it himself. If he was just being an arrogant, self-centered jerk, like 80% of the time he was, screw him. Takao had been breaking his back into getting Midorima to be his true self with him, inside and outside the court, but to no avail.

"You know what? I will. Maybe this time it'll work out. I deserve better." Kazunari felt the tears burning behind his eyes, but he kept them for himself. No, he wasn't such an oblivious idiot like Shin-chan was. He had noticed Mibuchi's intentions from the very beginning and the reason he accepted to go out with him was just as a trip of self-discovery. By that time, Takao had begun to question many things about his life, and as a typical teenager, one of them was his sexuality. It didn't help he had spent a year and a half having his life focused on becoming the best partner for his _male_ best friend. Mibuchi's assertiveness during their match and his continuous flirtings through their next encounters made Takao realize he was, and had always been, interested in men. It was also thanks to Reo's insinuations that Takao finally came to notice he was completely head over heels for Shintaro. He at least owed him a talk, three years later.

Kazunari stood up and drank his second shot. It was vodka the first time, but the second one he swore it was clear tequila. He hated the taste and he knew he shouldn't be mixing alcohol, but he was fed up with being scolded for something that happened years ago. Murasakibara and Himuro, who were speaking between themselves, fell silent and so did Kagami and Kuroko. Midorima glared daggers at him, as if he was trying to order him to stay. He knew that if he did so, he'd only make Takao angrier and he'd leave anyway. It was better to just leave him do whatever he wanted.

"Then, send my regards to Mibuchi." Shintaro said, glaring intensely at his friend. Takao didn't even answer back, he fumbled angrily towards the outdoor lounge and disappeared from their sight. Once he left, everyone noticed Midorima was shaking from tip to toe. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was trying to refrain from either crying or getting a headache. Without even thinking, Midorima grabbed one of the shots and drank it in one go. It burned his skin, his mouth and his tongue, but he didn't care. He had done something really, really stupid.

"Mido-chin, calm down…"

"Go after him, man…"

"No." Kuroko said, holding Midorima's arm as if expecting he'd go fetch after Takao. "Give him some time, he'd not like to see you like this. I'm sure he's not having a good time either." Midorima didn't respond, but he immediately grabbed another glass. It wasn't the first time he drank, in his house sake was served almost once a week. Tequila wasn't much different, but he hated it. He'd never considered drinking alcohol for leisure as something respectable. But, after all, he had not been a respectable man at all.

"You shouldn't be drinking if you're not used to it." Kagami said, stopping him just as he was about to grab the third one.

"What's happening? why is Midorimacchi drinking?! Where's Takaocchi?!" Kise asked as he returned from the dance floor, pulling Aomine's arm. Neither looked like they were drunk anymore, but they did look disheveled and tired. They couldn't lie to anyone there, they had been making out while all the mess with Murasakibara and now with Takao had happened.

"He's outside with Reo Mibuchi." Kagami said in a whisper. Kise opened his eyes in surprise, but he understood the problem immediately.

"Mibuchi…? Is Akashi with them?" Aomine asked, taking some of the shots away from Midorima's reach. He handed one to Kise, who didn't drink it on the spot. His gaze traveled from side to side, searching for the red-haired ace.

"No." Midorima finally spoke. "No, he left for a business call. They're… they're alone."

"Ah, they must be enjoying that bathroom on the third floor those guys were talking about!"

"Shut up, Aominecchi."

"What? Why?" Aomine grunted when Kise elbowed him on the ribs. "Oh. Then what are you doing here?! Go to him!"

"I said the same thing!"

"Shut up, you two, Bakagami! Ahomine!"

"Everyone, shut up." Midorima grunted, lacking his usual arrogant tone. He even sounded quite polite, but there was desperation in his voice.

"Calm down, Midorimacchi, I'm sure he's just asking for advice again…" Kise muttered, patting the shooting guard's shoulder. Midrima rose his sight and stared at the blonde, confused.

"Advice?" He didn't understand. As far as he knew, Takao was not in good terms with Mibuchi, they were not friends. If anything, they had just dated behind everyone's back, but kept everything for themselves.

"Uh, well… yeah? I'm not sure I should be telling you about it, though. About two years ago Takaocchi told me he had asked for help about certain… topics. He wanted someone who was completely open about their preferences and asked me if I had time to chat over a cup of coffee. I still had many doubts, so I told him to ask Reo-san about it." Kise had an apologetic look on his face, but the things he just said made Shintaro realize he had been wrong all along. Moreover, he had been oblivious of Takao's situation from the very beginning. Midorima remembered clearly what was like being around him two years ago: the teasing increased, the innuendos began, the often invitations to join him wherever he went… a certain failed confession during graduation day. He was such an idiot.

He rose from his seat and walked himself to the bathroom first, not hearing any complains from his friends. From the corner of his eyes, he was sure Kise was smiling excitedly, but so was everybody else. Had all of them noticed, but him? There was a great possibility of that. Perhaps they all had kept it quiet out of respect for Takao, so that he'd get to say it when the time was right. Midorima slapped himself mentally, he had only made things incredibly worst now.

He looked at himself in the mirror and he felt his vision blurring from the two shots he had taken. He was incredibly susceptible to drinking, that was the main reason he refused to take a sip on first place. Midorima removed his glasses in an attempt to make it all feel better, but it didn't work. He got slightly better after he sprayed his head with cold water, fixed his hair and his shirt, and then decided to face the consequences of his actions.

He walked past his friends towards the outdoor lounge. The place was almost deserted, excepting from a couple of people dancing and a few drunk teenagers ordering more drinks at the bar. He was able to take a glimpse at Takao and Mibuchi at the back of the place, they were watching from above the ledge into the city, the sky over their heads was covered with stars. Both laughed, though he noticed Takao had trails of tears still fresh on his cheeks. Mibuchi's hand rested on his hip, just above the elastic of his pants, but Takao wasn't touching him back. Both his arms rested on the stone surface of the ledge, and he had his legs flexed, making him look a lot smaller than the other man. Midorima breathed deeply and walked towards them, trying to be as courageous as possible. He patted Mibuchi's back, who gave him a sly smile. Takao's face switched from surprise, to happiness, to a sad grimace, to anger in just a couple of seconds.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Shintaro said, sounding as calm as he possibly could. "But I believe I need some time to speak with my boyfriend, please."

"Your what…?" Takao asked, partially angry, partially confused, and partly exhilarated.

"Sure thing, Midorima-kun. He's all yours. But I guess you already knew that." Reo winked at him, and Shintaro suspected Akashi might have told him something during their brief interaction before he left. "Talk to you later, Takao-chan~"

"Shin-chan what the f-!" He began, but was interrupted when Midorima pulled him closer for a hug. Takao melted at his touch, unusual for the stoic and cold Shin-chan he usually met everyday. He smelled of cologne and sweat, which made Takao weak on the knees. He embraced him back, as he felt more tears forming on the back of his eyes. Not even asking for Shin-chan's opinion, Kazunari rose on his tips and kissed him, instead of saying any more words that would turn everything into a terrible disaster. Perhaps they were both too drunk, Takao could taste alcohol on Shintaro's mouth, but he was unbelievably happy. Maybe none of them were on their right mind, but the world could end while he embraced him like that, and he'd not even care what happened next.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Kazu."

"K-Kazu?" The way his abbreviated name rolled on his lips was so adorable… "Shin-chan, what's going on? I'm confused."

"I'm confused too." Midorima admitted, holding Takao's hands briefly. He slowly returned to his usual stoic, emotionally-stuck self. "But I didn't know what to do. Kise told me some things and he got me thinking about it, but I... I didn't want to lose to Reo Mibuchi… again."

"Lose? This isn't basketball, Shin-chan!"

"No, I know." Midorima took another deep breath and took Takao's cocktail away from him. "I didn't want to lose _you._ You're my partner. We're supposed to be together, are we not? Perhaps… perhaps I hadn't put my mind into it, it's almost like we've already been together since forever and-"

"Shut up, Shin-chan." Takao teased him, as he began moving at the rythm of the song that had started to play just to get distracted before Midorima began saying incredibly sweet words that would make anyone blush wildly. "Would you dance with me? I don't wanna go back to them yet…"

"I… I d-don't know how to dance any of this music Momoi likes." He admitted.

"Then sit down and I'll dance for you~" There was something really seductive in Takao's tone that made Midorima blush harshly in just a second. He pulled his arm until he had found a seat and Takao placed his hands on his hips, as he waved them slowly at the beat of the music. Midorima gulped, nervous but excited. "But Shin-chan, next time, don't make me go through all of this. It was embarrassing."

"I'm sorry." It was still alien to Takao to hear him apologize for anything. "I was a fool for believing you and Mibuchi would…"

"Don't fret." Takao stuck his forehead against his friend's. There was a large smile on his face and happy tears rolled down his eyes. It was finally over. His longing, the burden in his heart was finally over with. "But Shin-chan, if you were gonna get all jealous, you should have told me before… you never said we were together!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, lord I love this ship so much. These dorks are perhaps the biggest OTP I've had in years. I have a little bit of a problem with these two, I cannot even fathom shipping them with anyone else. I can be a little more flexible with Takao, depending on the character he's paired with, but I just can't picture Midorima with anybody else but him. They're just so... ugh, perfect. This isn't the first MidoTaka thing I've written, but I've not finished the other ones yet. I always end up making them being either extremely cute and adorable towards each other, or very, very kinky. I regret nothing.


	4. ...you knew all along!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggggh I should have uploaded this yesterday but we had an opening event at work and I arrived home really late and completely tired, I'm sorry the chapter's late. Hope you enjoy, I'll upload the last part tomorrow morning!

"Agh, such a burden!" Kagami cried as he carried Kise and Aomine into their taxi. Their dorms were close to each other, so they should be just fine if the driver dropped them on the same campus. Whichever it was, Kagami didn't care any longer. They weren't quite as drunk as he had expected, but Midorima, who was the usual assigned driver, had ditched them and they all had gone overboard with the shots. The ones Akashi ordered for the table disappeared when Aomine and Kise began to bet who'd be able to drink the most without fainting. After the fifth one, they had both forgotten they had betted to begin with.

Tatsuya and Murasakibara said they'd be getting back to their hotel room to keep scouting for candy shops tomorrow morning, which was three blocks away from the bar. After much teasing him, they finally admitted being together for some months, much to Kagami's discontent, but in the end he respected Himuro's decision and decided to let the situation go. Whenever they had free time from college, Murasakibara told them he liked to grab a train and go to another prefecture in search of weird candies and pastries, more than often Himuro decided to tag along. For this weekend, he had also taken a chance to come to Momoi's birthday, even if they had not seen Momoi for more than an hour. Kagami asked himself, as he waved his childhood friend and his new partner goodbye, just how much money did Murasakibara spent on hotel rooms and candy shops each weekend. He didn't know much about his background, but he assumed he must have some contacts to get cheap rooms and discounts on the shops, or he should be really wealthy and kept it quiet.

Midorima was, surprisingly, the one who said he and Takao would stay for a little longer at the bar, thus leaving Aomine and Kise drunk and stranded, very far away from home. Midorima never drank, but after facing a brief crisis, they all discovered why he never touched a glass whenever they invited him to come. Midorima's hold on alcohol was terrible, and as such, he became drunk with just two shots and half of Takao's cocktail. Takao wasn't pulling his strings, as the shorter boy looked incredibly worried about his friend, but he would be lying if he didn't admit he was enjoying watching his precious Shin-chan badmouthing Akashi, then pulling him out to the dancefloor on the first floor for a straight hour until he sobered up again. Afterwards, Midorima couldn't stop apologizing to his friend and became filled with embarassment. Takao's solution for that was to keep buying him drinks so that he'd enjoy the party instead of regretting tagging along.

Kagami sighed. For being all of them college students, they surely behaved like hormonal high schoolers. The only one who hadn't drank a single drop of booze was the blue-haired boy walking besides him, as they made their way towards the subway station. If they were quick enough, they'd be able to catch the last train home -or perhaps the first train that departed in the morning... it was already 5 am when they left the bar.- and they'd crash at Kuroko's empty apartment. His parents were on a trip, but his house was closer than Kagami's, where they both resided since they began their college years.

Kagami reeked of alcohol, but his eyes were sober and his grip on the metal bar above his head steady. His feet never wavered when the subway stopped abruptly, but Kuroko kept an eye on him in case an emergency occurred. Kagami had the bad habit, Kuroko had noticed, to treat him like a girl from time to time. He was grateful about his kindness and his gentle manners, but every once in awhile Kuroko got bothered by it. That was one of those times.

Kagami insisted he took the only seat available, but Kuroko said it'd be better if he sat instead. Kuroko had only danced one song with Momoi, while Kagami went out and enjoyed the evening both with Kise and some girls that asked him out during the night. If anything, he should be more tired than Kuroko, but he insisted on being a gentleman towards him. Their argument came to an end when the passenger sitting next to Kuroko got down from the train, and Kagami took the seat without making any more fuss about it.

"Kagami-kun, can I ask you something?" Kuroko said, glancing around the empty wagon. Besides a late-night worker and another couple which sat far away from them, the train had practically emptied itself on the last stop. There were still seven more stations before they reached their destination.

"Just don't use complicated words… I'm not sure I can understand those at the moment." He rested his head against the back of the seat and covered his eyes with the palm of his hands.

"Yes, I'll be considerate. You've drunk quite a lot. Not as Aomine-kun and Kise-kun, though."

"No, those two know no concept of limits, as we've just seen tonight." Kagami grunted, raising his head to see Kuroko eye to eye. He noticed he was shivering slightly, so he untied the flannel shirt he had tied around his hips and handed it to him. Kuroko sighed and took it, knowing he'd not know the end of it if he didn't take it. "What's it you wanted to ask? Shoot, man." He said those last words in english, with that silly smile of his.

"Kagami-kun… since when have you had this silly crush on me?" If Kagami had been drinking anything, he was 100% sure he'd have spit it all out just now. Kuroko rolled his eyes as he tried to dismiss that astonished look from Kagami's face, but not only was he on shock, he had also turned a bright shade of red, perhaps the same as his hair. Kagami, on the other hand, felt slightly offended Kuroko had just called his crush 'silly'.

"W-w-w-what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Kagami-kun, I knew for quite some time."

"Well, thanks! You never said you knew all along!" Kagami closed his eyes in desperation. "If you already knew then why the hell are you asking me just now?"

"Oh, no, I didn't know." Kuroko laughed and Kagami felt the strong impulse to smack him. "I had to force that confession out of you because you were smothering me as if I was a girl you like, Kagami-kun."

"Well… I do like you." Kagami glanced away through the window, making all humanly-possible attempts to avoid Kuroko's intense stare. "But I've not been smothering you, I'm just being nice. Is that bad?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to know what your intentions were. If you liked me, it'd be pretty reasonable. If you didn't… well, I don't know."

"Wait, what if I didn't…?"

"I guess I would have deserved a punch in the face." Kuroko shrugged as he fixed Kagami's shirt over his shoulders and cuddled on it. Even if they were in the middle of spring, the nights used to be winding and cold.

"Then… what am I supposed to do now? Won't it be weird for you staying at the same place, living together, all that crap, knowing that I, uhm… have a crush on you?" Kagami asked, ruffling his own hair as if he would be able to hide within his bangs.

"Nothing has to change, Kagami-kun." Kuroko smiled, fixing his position on the seat. He picked up his legs and hugged them, so that he'd be able to rest his head on his knees. "Friends develop silly crushes on one another at all times. It happens quite often, so I guess it's normal. It's only slightly weird since we're both men, but I do not feel estranged. Me knowing about it doesn't actually change a thing."

"But what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I forced the confession out of you, the least I can do is give you the right to choose where would you like things to go between us." Kuroko said with a kind smile.

"You're taking as if you're _actually_ giving me a chance." Kagami asked with skepticism. "But as far as I know you're not into men, are you?"

"As far as I know, you're not either, Kagami-kun." Kuroko's smile turned from a heartwarming gesture to a know-it-all smirk. However, Kagami had to admit Kuroko was right. He didn't like men, and even if he tried to think about things twice once he began to notice he had taken a liking on his friend, it was impossible for him to feel any sort of attraction towards other men. His crush was, albeit, completely romantic. He had no fantasies other than spending all day with Kuroko or taking him out for dinner, most things he'd have just done with any other girl he'd met in some other context. He had asked Alex about it, but she had only laughed and said he should experiment and enjoy his youth. As always, Alex only proved to be useful when it came to basketball.

"Point taken." Kagami said, smiling. "That doesn't imply you'd like me back, anyway." Kagami said, wondering if it'd even be possible to feel attraction for just one person, regardless of their gender or their identity.

"Then perhaps you'd have to convince me. Making me something to eat once we get home might give you some points, though."

"You're starting to sound like Murasakibara, you know?" Kagami poked him and signaled the door. Their stop was coming up next. Kuroko rose to his feet and walked towards the door, which opened in just a couple of seconds.

"As long as you don't want me calling you 'daddy'..." Kuroko laughed, but Kagami grimaced. He still couldn't believe Tatsuya would be dating someone like that.

"Shut up."

The cold was even harsher outside the train, so they walked close to each other towards Kuroko's house. He returned the flannel shirt, since Kagami was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and he'd freeze to death if he had to walk three blocks from the subway. Taiga almost had the impulse to tell him to keep it, but he knew better, so he took it and placed it over his shoulders. His fingers fidgeted on his side as he felt the other boy's skin grazing his hand. Kagami didn't know if it had been an accident or not, but he decided to press on forward: if he wanted anything to happen between them, he'd have to take the first step. He reached out and grabbed the shorter boy's hand, pulling him closer to his side as they walked faster across the street. Kuroko smiled, latching his fingers with Kagami's, enjoying the warmth of his trembling hands against his.

"Kuroko…" Kagami began as they entered the house, being embraced by its usual warmth. Nigou was staying alone in their apartment, and both wished he hadn't made a mess while they were outside. Kagami remembered the small pup running to meet him during their first year of high school and a smile crept up on his lips. The dog had grown so much they had to pay a special loan to keep it on the building, but he was a healthy mutt, that from time to time, still freaked the larger man quite a lot.

"What's wrong, Kagami-kun?"

"W-would you let me share a futon with you? I… I kinda wanna…"

"No sex."

"N-no! of course not, idiot! I-I'm not even sure I… gah!" Kagami covered his face, embarrassed by Kuroko's suggestion. He didn't even want to imagine it. "No, just… forget about it, I'll sleep on the couch."

"I'll ready the futon, you go prepare dinner. After we're done eating you should take a shower, and I'll take your clothes for laundry. Tomorrow's saturday, so we can sleep all morning without problem... I think I still have some of your spare clothes here, so please, make yourself at home." Kuroko smiled and held his hand for a little longer, before letting go of it and disappearing on the darkened hall towards his room.

"Home… I like the sound of that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm I tried to go for a different angle with these two, because I really love their relationship and their friendship so much. I tried to make all the characters different, in an attempt to avoid the typical 'everybody is gay' cliché many writers fall into. I don't know if it's working or not, but I like the results.


	5. ...this was all your idea!

**Chapter 5: … this was all your idea!**

Akashi walked out of his father's office and noticed he had two missing calls, one from Mibuchi and another from Satsuki. He smiled to himself. If things had gone as he had planned, both his friends would have a lot to tell him about the party he had just excused himself a while ago. He'd have like it to witness it all himself, but duty called and he had to heed his father's needs. Mibuchi was quicker to respond and had sent a text instead, when he received no answer from his former captain.

_[Things were just as you predicted, Sei-chan. Kazu-chan is still confused, I'll talk to him if he comes by.]_

_[OMG~ he's coming this way, he looks so hot!1 so bad he's crying T.T... that friend of yours is so ungrateful, having such a beautiful bae and yet… ugh! Talk 2 u l8r.]_

_[Just as planned. Midorima fell for the trap. You'll have to come for lunch with me as payment for my services, Sei-chan, I would have really loved to smooch Kazu-chan!]_

Akashi smiled and texted him back immediately as he removed his tie and walked towards the building's entrance, where his driver awaited for him. _[Thank you, for doing this favor for me and for the recommendation as well. The place was really nice, I'm glad you're working there. I think it'll be better if I introduce you to someone else, instead. I hope you like them, Reo. Let's arrange a date later this weekend, while I'm still on the country.]_

_[Can you call me once you're free, Akashi-kun? Please, make sure you're on your own…]._ Momoi's message was brief, but it revealed the girl was in a distressful situation at the moment. Perhaps something had happened with her future father-in-law, but Akashi assumed it had to be something else, otherwise she would be calling Aomine instead of him. If Akashi was the one she considered calling first, not even Kise or Kuroko, it must be something that needed a frank and objective point of view.

"Driver, please roll up the partition." Akashi commanded as they stopped on a red light before dialing Satsuki's number. His hotel room was not far away from his father's office, but it'd take at least twenty minutes to get there. He hoped it would be more than enough to listen to whatever his friend would want to tell him.

"I… I'm sorry for bothering you, Akashi-kun." Momoi's trembling voice said as soon as she answered her phone. "I hope you're not busy or too tired, I know it's late."

"It's never late to help a good friend. I'll go to bed once I get home, I'm on my way there. How're you doing?" Akashi asked, expecting Momoi to give him a detailed explanation on her current situation, even though he knew how things had turned out already. He moved the pieces on the board, perfectly conscious his friends were like pawns in a game of chess.

"Not so good. En-chan and I got into a fight…" Momoi sighed and Akashi could tell she was slightly bothered by something. "He said I shouldn't go around committing myself to someone if I wasn't sure about my feelings. You knew this would happen, right? Did you know about Dai-chan's...?" Her voice lingered in silence for a while, then Akashi could hear a low whimper.

"I wasn't completely sure, but had a faint idea of them. Please don't blame it on me, you were the one who proposed to reunite everyone so that they could meet with Harasawa-san." Akashi said calmly, but Momoi fumbled from the other side of the speaker.

"Don't play innocent! You incentivised me so that I'd hold the party! Besides, Ki-chan just texted me things turned out quite… strangely. Something about Kagamin confessing and something about Taka-chan crying!"

"I know none of the details, but I do admit being guilty on moving some of their strings so that they'd come forward with their feelings." The emperor admitted in a very calculating and calm voice. "I had no idea you'd get involved in all of this as well. I'm sorry."

"Wait… did you plan all of this? You never said this was all your idea!" Momoi cried, clearly angered now that the cat was out of the bag. "Akashi-kun, you promised you'd never interfere like this again! I-If anythin, I'd have helped you if you had told me! But now..."

"Once again, I'm sorry you got involved. My plans involved pushing Taiga to confess his feelings for Tetsuya and Shintaro to recognize Kazunari's efforts on wooing him, that's all. I didn't know I'd also get Atsushi's secret relationship with Tatsuya exposed, or that…" He thought that it'd not be a good idea to tell her about Kise and Aomine at the time. If her relationship with her fiancé was going through a rough moment, possibly because of a crisis with her own emotions towards Aomine, telling her that the man was having thoughts about Kise would probably break her. "... nevermind. Let's talk about all this tomorrow when things have calmed down, please. I'll take you out for breakfast, as we didn't get to spend much time during your birthday."

"This is terrible! You promised you'd not get involved! You cannot go breaking promises like that!" She repeated herself, but accepted his invitation anyway. Momoi insisted she'd try to talk with En again before he'd try to break their engagement over a silly argument, but she wanted to make up her mind before making a rash decision. "Can I ask you for a favor? Please… don't let me make a mistake, Akashi-kun. I do love En-chan but..."

"I think you should speak to all the involved parties on the matter, Satsuki. It's not me who you should be asking for advice, actually. You have to speak with Daiki, I'm sure you're aware of it." Akashi said, trying to make his friend realize what's the right thing to do.

"I… I know. Anyway, please… I just need your usual advice and scolding, Akashi-kun, it's not like I'm asking you to solve this for me." Momoi admitted, her voice a lot more cheerful than before. "Let's meet for brunch, I have an interview tomorrow morning and I can't make it for breakfast. When does your plane leaves?"

"Monday at noon. I hope I don't get any emergency calls from my father again, I was planning to spend this little holiday with other things in mind."

"Didn't you say you were here for business?"

"Ah, right…" Akashi's tongue had slipped, but it wasn't anything he could fix with a couple of white lies Momoi would not want to indagate more about. "Yes, I had two meetings yesterday and this late-night call was an emergency, but I planned to spend the weekend away from the office." He didn't tell Momoi his father had actually requested to see him when he caught notice his son was in Japan for a weekend getaway. He wasn't in the country for business, he had just caught a plane when he was less busy to meet a certain someone who was also, coincidentally, spending some days in Japan for the time being.

"Hmm, then I guess you just wanted to take a break from work and college? That's nice, Akashi-kun, I'm glad you're now allowing yourself to rest from time to time, you've always been so hardworking you actually deserve to lay down for a while."

"Thanks, Satsuki. Call me once your interview is done so we can meet later for something to eat."

"Sure. Thanks, Akashi-kun. And please, no more interfering."

"I will try. Good night."

The driver stopped the car just when he hung up with his pink-haired friend and opened the door to him at the hotel's lobby. Akashi smiled and thanked the chauffeur, picking his jacket as he walked inside the building on his own. His cellphone vibrated once again, which made Akashi turn his eyes in desperation. Just when will they stop bothering him for tonight? The messenger, however, made a smile appear upon his face.

_[It's getting late, are you coming already?]_

_[I'm on the elevator. You're quite impatient.]_

_[Also not fond of you ditching me for those guys. Was it fun?]_

_[They're doing fine. My father found out I was here, I had to leave to see him.]_

"Ouch, does that mean he'll try to keep you from bidding your will?"

"He doesn't hold that power over me anymore, senpai." Akashi said, greeting his roommate affectionately as he opened the door for him. Nijimura smiled and let him in after ruffling Akashi's hair with his fingers. He knew it annoyed the shorter man greatly, but Akashi didn't complain anymore. If anything, Shuuzo was the only person that was capable of calming Akashi's indomitable personality and made his other self refrain form acting while they were together. They knew their long-distance relationship was based on mutual understanding and a bit of manipulation coming from both sides, but they were doing just fine. Nobody had to know.

"I'm glad you're back, welcome."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final note on Akashi... I don't like his character much, perhaps he's my least favorite GoM member, but I never liked people portraying him as a psycho. He's strong willed, manipulative and has a mental disorder, that's it. In my stories in which Akashi is actually the bad guy, he's just being overpowered by those demons inside him, but I completely understand he's not a rotten human being and the personification of the yandere-trope, like many people tend to characterize him. I didn't detail much on his relationship with Niji-senpai because... well, just like that ship because they look good together. I believe Nijimura is one of the very few characters who managed to have a certain degree of control over Akashi's other self, but unfortunate circumstances separated him from the GoM. We're left to wonder what would have been if he had stayed as their captain. Oh well...
> 
> With this, the story is done! I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading this strange whim of mine, I had a lot of fun writing it! Don't forget to leave a comment!


	6. ... there was an extra chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am, back by unpopular demand! Many of my dear readers made me notice I did not give a conclussion to Aomine and Kise's situation, so I took some time to wrap it up. I hope you like it!

Aomine knew that if he stood up from wherever he was lying, he'd fall back down in just a second. He had no idea if he was still drunk or if he was just so terribly hungover he was barely able to see the ceiling of a room which evidently wasn't his. Past night had been a complete blur after Momoi left, even if he remembered glimpses of very confusing moments, most of which involved Kise. Worst of it all, Aomine didn't remember when, or even if they had parted ways last night. He blinked several times and managed to sit down on… something. He assumed it was a futon at first, but it was strangely sprawled across the floor as if the person who'd arranged it had been hand tied and had to do it with their feet. Or as if they were incredibly drunk, which was the most probable answer.

As soon as his head stopped spinning, he glanced around, trying to reckon where the hell had he spent the night. It was definitely not his room, but there was some familiar aura to it. Most of it all, the smell reminded him of something. The covers reeked of alcohol, but he could smell a faint cologne he'd smelt many times before, and the basketball posters just confirmed his suspicions. He was in Kise's room.

_Crap, what am I doing here…? … fuck, why am I wearing no clothes?!_ Aomine noticed as he tried to clean some sweat from his brow with the shirt he wasn't wearing. Panicked, he moved the covers and was grateful he was still wearing underwear, but it didn't help the situation in the least. _Goddammit, you idiot! try to remember what the fuck happened!_

"Aominecchi, you're awake. Good morning." The taller man cursed under his breath and noticed Kise was resting on his bed, just above him with his cellphone in his hands. He looked tired, but in better shape than Aomine did. "I thought you'd sleep until past midday, actually."

"Ugh, morning. Are we in your dorm?"

"Yes, Kurokocchi called us a cab after Midorimacchi ditched us. The guy brought us here together and…"

"Don't tell me we…? Did we…?" Aomine signaled the bed, but it made Kise laugh and roll over his side to face him. Damn it, was he attractive when he was half naked, still partially asleep and had those tired bedroom eyes…

"I do not know about you, but I can still sit without any issue and I'm not sore in that many places." Kise winked at him and rubbed his eyes right afterwards. He was just as naked as Aomine was, but he noticed he was wearing pajama pants beneath the covers. "I'm not that easy catch, Aominecchi… though you did refuse to share the bed and insisted on bringing out the futon. I see you barely managed to unfold it." He laughed again and

"You sure? My mind went blank after the third shot of that thing you brought. You seem to hang on better than I expected." Aomine admitted and tried to cover himself with the sheets when he stood up, balancing himself with Kise's bedside table. The blonde man rolled his eyes and pulled from the fabric, leaving him completely exposed. Aomine felt a surge of shame running through his body, but he grunted and let himself fall on the edge of the bed, shoving Kise to make some space for himself.

"I did have to get you undressed, though. You almost choked on your shirt." His tone, of course, was full of tease and it made Aomine blush slightly. "I do remember most of the night, but I'm trying to piece together some things with the photos on my phone."

"Ah, was that thing buzzing like crazy some hours ago?"

"Yours too, but I think you ran out of batteries." Kise tossed his phone and, just as expected, the trinket was turned off and lifeless at the moment. "The chat has been pretty… active."

Kise scrolled on the screen to the top and Aomine could see there were at least 70 pictures before he reached the last one he had seen, which was a selfie Momoi took when they all reunited at the bar. The blue haired man sighed and rested his face on his hands. He still had to talk to her, but he had a lot of things to sort before doing anything stupid. For starters, he had to figure out what was he going to do next regarding the beautiful man laying besides him at the moment.

"So, we drank, and we drank, and we drank and we took too many selfies." Aomine said, inspecting the first batch of photos in which the two of them were mostly featured. In some they were simply standing next to the other, in some they were wearing silly party props or Kise had added some of those annoying stickers and filters. On the last ones, however, the two of them were making out and there was even a brief video of them dancing together that, if the messenger indicated correctly, Kuroko had been the one to film it. Oh, Tetsu was in a lot of trouble…

"... and we… kissed." Kise said, rolling to his side with the pillow on his face so that Aomine would not look at his embarrassment. "A lot of times."

"I don't remember it being _that_ bad, you know."

"No, me either. But it's just quite weird, isn't it? You've been my friend for so long and now…"

"It was just the whim of the moment, don't read much into it." Kise was thankful Aomine was unable to see the hurt expression on his face at the moment. "You picked my curiosity and the booze didn't help."

"Yeah, you're right." Kise managed to cheer up and kept scrolling down. This time there was a large batch of random photos of the whole gang sitting at the table with the shots Akashi had ordered for them before he left and the impromptu drinking contest Kagami had engaged with all of them. After losing against Himuro, his punishment had been to find out his big bro had actually been dating the 'purple Big Bird' for months and that he wasn't actually just 'taking care of him' as Kagami initially believed. The photos of Kagami's startled face were priceless, this time Kuroko had made a very good job.

"Damn it, Tetsu, you're one hell of a paparazzi." Aomine said, shaking his head as he laughed. He stood up and took Kise's charger, expecting to receive a cascade of messages as soon as the battery was powered again. Afterwards, there were several pictures of a very drunk and out of character Midorima, who was actually laughing and dragging Takao around. Kise couldn't hold a giggle when he saw the tall green haired boy acting so giddy, but it was kind of endearing to see him open up, even if completely hammered.

There were more photos at the table where some of them were absent at times, but Kise couldn't help but notice he'd been clinging to Aomine's arm most of the times and he rested his head against his shoulder on most of the photographs. There were some shots where the taller one even returned the gesture. The _what if_ s only made Kise wonder and hurt so badly, because he wanted to believe those things he was seeing on the pictures could come true if he just pushed his luck. He was a patient man. But he knew better, Aomine had his eyes set on someone else.

"The next ones are from today… oh boy." Kise said, giggling once again. Himuro and Murasakibara were doing their typical update on their candy shopping and bakery research with the usual food photos and many dumb selfies, but this time there was a very interesting picture of Akashi walking hand in hand with a man that looked a lot like Nijimura-senpai just across the street they were walking by. For Himuro's upcoming messages, it seemed the two were going out in secret from everyone and had a long distance relationship unknown to the world, but they decided to take a vacation in Tokyo for the weekend. How clever, Kise thought and smiled widely. Never in a thousand years would he have imagined Akashi would have such a secret relationship, with no other else than Nijimura-san. No wonder he'd been so paranoid when his father called him last night.

_[I actually met Nijimura-san in America and we were really close friends back then… why do I feel Akashi-kun is trying to fulminate me with his eyes…?]_

_[I think he's jealous.]_

_[Oh my god he's going to kill me, send help.]_

The next photo was a very indiscreet closeup on Kagami's face, followed up by Kuroko's report on his roommate's hangover, along with a detailed and triumphalist description on how he managed to get some sort of a confession out of the idiot when they were walking back home from the subway. Kise laughed and remembered he had some bet money to retrieve from Himuro later that week. Of course it'd be Kuroko. It is always Kuroko.

"Hmm, seems Takaocchi sent me a private inbox. Oh my god…" He read out loud the upcoming texts.

_[Kise, this is terrible, Shin-chan is really drunk, I don't know if I'll be able to get him home and everyone else already left…]_

_[Oh no, he's asking Reo for more shots.]_

_[Do you happen to know what the hell is a blowjob shot? I'm scared.]_

_[OMG ASDKJBJHFRV Shin-chan!]_

_[I have pictures but he's going to kill me if I show them to you.]_

_[I managed to get us home. Talk to you tomorrow morning.]_

"Ohhhh fuuuuck, seems like they had a very interesting evening, those two!" Kise blushed and Aomine decided it was better not to ask what the hell had happened. The name on itself was bad enough for him to want to know the rest of it. "I should call him, I'm kinda worried."

"Yeah…" Aomine checked his phone and noticed Momoi had called him at least five times already, twice last night and three more earlier that day. "I'll do the same, Satsuki wants something."

"Have you thought what you're going to do about it? I mean, you're…"

"Don't worry about it. I can handle it. I have already taken a decision, but it's her choice to make in the end. I'll go back to my own dorm before your roommates kick me out." He shrugged and dressed himself quickly.

"Aominecchi, I…"

"Don't make things more complicated." He grunted before going out of the door. "I need to sort things out with her before I can even get myself to think of whatever the hell happened yesterday, ok?" Just like that, he had ruined everything. Kise curled up with his knees against his chest as he sent Takao a 'do you have a minute?' text, in hopes to share his worries with someone. Momoi would usually do the job, but she was involved in all of this as well. Just how pathetic this had turned out to be. Sacchin was in love with someone, and Aomine was in love with her. Little did he know, Kise had fallen very hard for him long, long before he'd even noticed Momoi was actually a decent female human being worth of his liking.

* * *

There she was, dressed in a very flattering blue dress and her pink locks of hair shook with the wind as she walked towards him with eagerness. Her boots make a clanking sound against the concrete and she rose on her tips to hug him when they finally were close to one another. Aomine stopped for a second to hold her tight, as if she'd break if he let go of her. But, in the end, he knew he had to do so, in more than one way.

"I'm glad I was able to see you today, Dai-chan." She said holding his hands firmly. Aomine sighed, tired and confused. The hangover was still lingering on his body, no matter how many cups of coffee he'd drank and how many pieces of toast he had eaten earlier. "I'm sorry we've got to meet until now, I had brunch with Akashi-kun and I went with En-chan to see his dad afterwards."

"Is he alright?" He asked, truthfully concerned, but stern.

"He's stable now, the doctor says he hopes Mr. Harasawa will be back to normal by the end of the week."

"Let's hope so. You wanted to talk?"

"...yes. It's not easy for me to say this. I asked you before on what was your opinion on my choices, but I think I never stopped to listen to your own. Do you… do you like me, Dai-chan?"

"Isn't it too late to be asking that, Satsuki?"

"Just humor me."

"I did." Aomine sighed and scratched the back of his head. "You're on the chat room as well, don't play it dumb. You saw the photos."

"Come on, Dai-chan, I know for a fact that you're not gay." She was grumpy, but she didn't mean any of it as an offense. "Ki-chan has always been open about his feelings for you ever since he came out, it's no surprise. I guess he just caught you off-guard and really drunk after… after I introduced you to En-chan and left with him without even talking to you properly."

"Maybe he did. He was never straightforward with me, so I never took notice. You know I'm an idiot, I'm not good with reading other people's feelings. Not even my own." Satsuki laughed, acknowledging he was only a genius when it came to basketball. Otherwise, he was pretty dull when it came to emotions other than pride and anger. She rambled on about being just as dumb as he was, as she had never wanted to acknowledge he had a crush on her.

"But I do love him, Dai-chan. En is a great man, I'd not like to hurt him in any way."

"Then why are you talking to me as if you're hoping I'd make you change your mind?" His words were harsh, but they seemed to bring her back to reality. Insisting it wasn't her intention, she apologized. "I understand, but you need to sort your feelings. Do you love Harasawa?"

"...yes."

"Then… do you love me?" She remained silent, startled by his question, but he didn't seem worried or anxious as he waited for her answer. After a few seconds, she shook her head.

"No… it's not the same. You're my best friend and I do love you, but you're…"

"You were just going to say 'just like a brother', right? Ugh, please keep those words to yourself, Satsuki! You know a man's ego is really fragile, just don't!" They both shared a laugh and Aomine patted her hair when their moment of glee slowly vanished. "I know I'm more like family to you, rather than a significant other or even a lover. In some way, I guess you're the same to me. A little sister."

"Then… why were you so sad yesterday?"

"Because I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to deal with his own feelings." There was something about that nostalgic and melancholic smile of his that made Satsuki notice he wasn't the same boy she'd always toyed around when they were younger, neither the angry and lonely teenager who she followed around when they were high schoolers. He was another Daiki Aomine, who'd just realized something very powerful about himself and his former basketball partner.

"You've changed a lot, Dai-chan." Satsuki smiled and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, raising up to her toes again to reach his face. "I'm so glad we've got to talk like this, even if it's been brief. I know you're busy with exams, but thanks for walking me to the interview during your break." She fixed her hair and arranged her folders beneath her arms. She really wanted to get this role and she'd finally gotten a second call on the very same day. "Do you think we can go for something to eat when I'm done? It'll be in around two or three hours?"

"No, I'm sorry, I have other plans. How about later this week?"

"Then it's settled. Wish me luck!"

* * *

"Hey."

"Oh… hi." His voice sounded as if he had been crying. Aomine sighed.

"I'm sorry I was so insensitive earlier. I talked with her."

"Really? How did it go?" There wasn't disappointment in Kise's tone, but Aomine could tell there was something really bad happening on the other side of the line.

"She basically sent me to the bro-zone and I had to do the same."

"Ouch, that's rough." Kise laughed, but Aomine did as well. In comparison to the broken man who'd drowned himself on booze just some hours ago, his new response to rejection seemed a lot more mature and calm.

"Nah, after all, it could have been just jealousy of seeing her running off with another guy."

"Aominecchi… you know very well that's not the case. Stop playing dumb with it."

"I know, I know, geez…" He smiled as he stuck his face against the cold surface of the device as he picked up a bouquet from the flower shop. "That's why I'm making something on it already."

"Oh, nice! What's the plan, then? Are we spraining his other ankle? Will we be kidnapping her and keeping her hostage until Mario comes to save Peach? Blackmailing him with his brother's embarrassing summer photos with my former coach?" Kise mocked, but he could hear a small chuckle coming from the other side.

"Dumbass. I was planning on going out for dinner and plainly confess my feelings. I don't know, some cheesy shit like 'Run away with me', or 'Pick me instead', who knows? Maybe I'll be pitied and I'll get something out of it."

"How daring! Who'd have guessed Aominecchi would be such a knight in shining armor?"

"Wouldn't that make you the princess, then?"

"...what?"

"Open the door."

Kise gasped and, with the phone still on his hands, he rushed for the door as he cleaned his face with his fingers, wiping away a few stray tears from his eyes. He swung the door open and found his friend standing before him with a small bouquet of white lilies on his hands.

"Aominecchi…"

"How does dinner sound, then?" He asked, hanging up immediately afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, this gives it a little bit of closure, but I'm not sure if the characterizations are alright, or even if the nature fo their relationship would end up developing onto something like this. I must admit I ship them a lot more with Momoi and Kasamatsu respectively, but I wanted to try writing them together. I don't know, most of the KnB ships are good, so here's my silly attempt at cheesy AoKise. See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please leave a kind review if you did! Remember writers needs validation, or at least this nerd does, haha.


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